Q no 1- were you surprised by the ending of the story?

how does Jackson start to foreshadow the

ending in paragraphs 2 and 3 ?conversely,how does Jackson lull us into thinking that this is just an
ordinary story with an ordinary town?

Answer:

I was not really shocked by the end because I interpreted that it was not an ordinary lottery in
which the winner would win a price but conversely, the winner was killed because of a superstitios
belief. Jackson had forshadowed the ending by the gathering of stones and when the people started
gathering at the same place.From these things we can infer that something is going to happen in this
town.Jackson has told us that this is the story of an ordinary town and this is an old tradition of this
town .people are used to follow this ritual.

Q no 2- Where does the story take place?In what way does setting affect the story?Does it make you
more or less likely to anticipate the ending?

Anwser:

This story basically takes place in a small town somewhere in the United States of
America.according to me setting affects the story very much because Jackson has presented an
ordinary small town which seems to be a backward area due which people are superstitious.The setting
of the story make it easy for us to infer the ending.

Q no 3- In what ways are the characters differentiated from one another?Looking back at the story,can
you see why Tessie Hutchinson is singled out as the “winner”?

Anwser:

The characters are mainly differentiated from each other on the basis of their surnames because
they are called to take a chit out of the box by their surnames.Tessie is singled out as winner because
she got the paper with black spot on it .

Q no 4- What are some examples of irony in this story?For example,why might the title ,”The Lottery”or
the opening description in paragraph one ,be considered ironic?

Anwser:

Irony is theme which is used throughout the whole story such as in the start setting is introduced as a
bright and sunny day but it eventually ends with the ferocious death of an innocent housewife.the title
of the story is itself an example of irony because the person who win wins a lottery receives some sort
of prize bit in contrast to this the winner in this story is given the prize of death.

Q no 5- Jackson gives interesting names to a number of her characters. Explains irony of some of these.

Anwser:
 Jackson has also given ironic names to some of the characters in the story such as Mr.Graves and
Mr. summers who essentially runs the town.Summers have a delightful name but in this story it Is ironic
because his job is opposite to the thoughtsas he was killing the villagers by lottery.the name of Mr .
Graves is a an irony because it means a place where people die but he assists Mr. summers in
lottery.The third most prominent name in the story is Delacroix which means the cross and in christanity
cross means the death of Jesus Christ.So, it symbolizes the death of a person by lottery for the well
being of villagers.

Q no 7- Take a close look at jackson’s description of the black wooden box and of the black spot on the
fatal slip of paper.what do these objects suggest to you?Why is black box described as “battered”?Are
there any other symbols in the story?

Anwser:

The wooden black box is an important part of the story as the story revolves around it.The black box
represents the death ,mourning and punishment.the slips of paper are placed in this box and one of
them has a black mark on it which represents death.the black box is described “battered “ in the story
because this bos is very old and has used from generation to generation .people do not want to replace
the box.this story basically has symbols of death and darkness.

Q no 8- What do you understand to be the writer’s own attitude toward the stoning and lottery? Exactly
what in the story makes her attitude clear to us?

Anwser:

Jackson’s attitude while writing the lottery is to generate a thought in people about what we do to
others in our daily life.she is against there superstitios rituals of stoning and lottery.Others people were
leaving this ritual but the villagers were adhered to it just because of their blind belief.

Q no 9- This story satires a number of social issues,including the reluctance of people to reject outdated
traditions and rules.What kind of traditions, practices,laws,etc.might “The Lottery” represent?

Anwser:

In general, the story represents the old traditions that people follow blindly.they are not changing
their tradition with the pace of time.they just do it even though nobody remembers exactly why.the
tradition they follow is actually inhumane because they are killing someone who is innocent just for the
rain and crops.

Q no 10- this story was published in 1948,just after World War II . What other cultural or historical
events,attitudes,institutions, or rituals might Jackson be satirizing in this story?

Anwser:

Some of the themes of this story resonated with the people after world war II such as cruelty by
people who seem to be civilized and the importance of tradition in cruelty and violence.Dehumanization
was also a factor during world war II and the holocaust done during this age.people were killing other
without any solid reasons.